Crawl Arts was founded in 2017 as a platform to use art and creativity for positive change in our environment.

We aim to educate, engage and inspire environmental action through our:

Shop The concept behind our products came from our founder Gabi's trip to Guatemala, where she spent time learning embroidery with local artisans. The vibrant traditional garments, still worn by a large majority of the population, are embellished with colourful, illustrated stories about the peoples' social and cultural history. They are worn with pride, and form part of their identity.

If the same were true for many of the clothes and products that line our high street shops in the UK, the narratives behind their origins, production, and makers would more likely give cause for concern.

We believe that the everyday things we wear and use should not only be responsibly and sustainably made, but active. As well as being reclaimed, or sourced from responsible UK manufacturing partners, our garments tell stories that provoke different thinking for how we engage with our natural world.

Programmes & EventsThe proceeds from our products go towards running local, collaborative and community-based programmes and events that use creativity to explore the environmental issues we are confronted with, and inspire action.

BlogAs well as telling our own, we want to share news and ideas of other creative initiatives that are helping our environment. This could be a personal art project, creative event, exhibition, or more - if you have a story you'd like to tell, we'd love to hear from you!

What's in a name?

Our name Crawl Arts has a few different roots:

1. In Genesis, the first chapter of one of the oldest stories known, there's reference to 'all crawling things which crawl on the earth'. The significance we draw from this is explained in the following two points.

2.It relates to our Back To Basics ethos. We want to make changes, but before we can run again, we must re-learn our first steps, with a cleaner agenda for living more responsibly on this Earth. For us, that means finding different approaches to making, talking and doing.

3.Like much of our animal family, we started out on all fours. Our exploitation of the natural world comes hand in hand with a destructive hierarchical attitude towards our fellow creatures. This dynamic is taking it's toll. Many eco-systems and species have already been lost, and with soaring rates of extinction worldwide, more and more are coming under threat. We are a democratising platform, championing creativity that appreciates and celebrates diversity and equality for all.

4.The action of crawling is associated with slow movement and gradual progress. This is well suited to our philosophy of "slow activism". We understand that lasting change does not happen overnight, but is a journey aided by shared experiences of experimenting with the new. We hope to help drive this process, and encourage others to join us.